


The Fine Line Between

by GinnyBadWolf



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, IronDad and SpiderSon, Tags May Change, Work In Progress, none of that starker shit, well as canon compliant as i really want it to be
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-24
Updated: 2018-09-06
Packaged: 2019-07-02 02:09:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,213
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15786783
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GinnyBadWolf/pseuds/GinnyBadWolf
Summary: Peter and Tony's relationships transforms a lot - from hero and fan into mentor and mentee into something akin to father and son. Though it isn't shown in the films, there are lots of missing moments between that led to these changes.Follows the two from after Spiderman: Homecoming until after Infinity War.





	1. Chapter 1

Tony isn’t necessarily invested. He’s  _interested._ If his life in the business sector has taught him anything, it’s that interest and investment are totally different concepts. Interest is more like passing curiosity -  _oh, cool, huh -_ and investment (when not expressed in cash) is only pursued when there’s a goal to be reached.

So this isn’t investment. The kid’s already turned down a spot on the Avengers - so what more is there to do? He can’t give the kid an actual SI internship. He’s way too young to work at the company, and he definitely doesn’t have the time to do the actual hours normal interns do. No. There’s no road to even go down, there. So it’s just interest.

He’s not ashamed to admit he’s interested in the kid (but not in that way, you perv). So what? He’s an  _interesting_  kid. Part-time genius, part-time superhero, lacking in the parental department. Absolutely not a reminder of himself. No sir. Just, uh - interesting.

And even though (and Tony would like to  _pointedly_ explain this) it’s not an actual  _investment_ investment _,_ sure, he can still invest some _time_  into the kid. He wants to learn more about him, most especially about that whole Vulture incident. Tony knows more than most about trauma, and if he wants to check up on the kid after what happened, who’s gonna stop him?

“Boss, nobody is going to stop you. Therefore, there is no reason to explain yourself either,” FRIDAY says calmly. Tony pauses his vaguely defensive rambling.

“You know, I don’t remember coding any backtalk into you, FRIDAY.”

“You did code a feature that helps me learn from my surroundings, Boss.”

“Are you - is that a ‘it takes one to know one’ stab at me? Oh, FRIDAY, my honor!”

“You are the one who said it, Boss. It was not me.”

“See, if you learned everything from me, where exactly did you get all that... subtlety? Because I have many virtues - you know - but subtlety is an art that I - well, I’ve yet to master. So -”

“Pepper Potts is also in contact with me often.”

“Gotcha.”

“Would you still like me to send the given message to Happy Hogan, sir?”

“Read it back again, would you, dear?”

The message pops up on a screen in front of Tony, where he’s sitting in the lab. FRIDAY reads it out loud for his convenience anyways.

“Hey, Happy. Pick up the kid and take him over here after school ends tomorrow, would you? I know you’re not a babysitter but I pay you all this money and I’m not sure what you do otherwise, so -”

“Yeah, FRI, that’s perfect. Send it.

“Would you like to contact May Parker first?”

Tony shrugs. “Sure. Send her a text and mention it’s not a mission.”

“You don’t want to personally dictate it, Boss?”

“Probably best not to.

“After seeing your message to Happy Hogan, I must agree, sir.

“You know, I take back the thing I said about subtlety. Maybe I should update your software -”

“Is that all, sir?”

“Yeah FRI, that’s it.”

“The message to Happy Hogan will be sent upon an affirmative from May Parker.”

“Great.”

* * *

 The clock can’t seem to move slowly enough. Peter has decided that he is entirely tired of listening to his biology teacher telling him things he already knows, and has instead taken to staring out the window, waiting, waiting, waiting -

His phone buzzes in his pocket. Peter looks up, momentarily stunned, because none of his texts give him vibrating alerts except for ones from Happy, Mr. Stark, or May. He looks up at Mr. Logan, who’s super busy being boring, and then takes out his phone covertly.

It’s from Happy.  _Don’t take the subway home, kid._

What?

What does that mean?!

He spends a solid minute freaking out silently before sending a screenshot to Ned, who conveniently doesn’t have silent on. The text tone is very loud and Peter flinches, pretending everything is fine while the teacher pauses and everyone looks around for the source. He ends up sitting silently for another couple of minutes before Ned deems it safe enough to text back.

 **#1 Guy in the Chair:** dude what the hell

 **Spooderman:** not my fault you have ringtones on just read the screenshot

 **#1 Guy in the Chair:** whatttttt does that mean

 **Spooderman:** idk but i am s t r e s s e d

 **#1 Guy in the Chair:** oof

                                 gtg i think mr. logan is looking

Peter puts away his phone and tries his hardest to look as normal as possible the rest of class. It turns out that this is a very time-consuming activity, and before he knows it, class is over.

Ned meets him at his locker. “Peter, do you think that Mr. Stark wants to talk to you? Maybe he’ll thank you for saving his plane! Oh, wait, his plane got destroyed anyways. Oh! Maybe he’ll thank you for catching the guy who destroyed it? That would be so cool! What if-”

Peter sighs good-naturedly. “Ned, he already did that. I have no idea why Happy wants to pick me up.”

“Maybe it’s a mission!”

“I turned down a spot on the Avengers, remember? I doubt it’s a mission. He’s got Mr. Rhodes and Vision and, like, other people to help him with superhero stuff. Plus, he’s super cool. Like, he’s Iron Man - he could probably do stuff alone anyways.

“Well, whatever it is, you gotta text me about it. I still can’t believe you hang out with Tony Stark!” Ned exclaims.

“Yeah, nobody can, Penis!” Peter hears from over his shoulder, and turns. He sees the back of Flash’s head walking away in the crowd of people, and sighs.

Ned shakes his head. “Whatever, man. Let’s just go. Flash doesn’t know anything anyways.”

They walk outside, and through the crowd, Peter can just spot Happy leaning against his black Audi wearing black sunglasses and a black suit. Ned and Peter pause at the top of the steps, and the moving river of kids shift around them.

“Whoa,” Ned whispers, “It’s just like a spy movie.”

“Yeah,” Peter says, eyes wide, before Happy notices him and motions at Peter to come over. The two walk to Happy as if in a trance, stopping just in front of the car. There’s a moment of silence where Happy stares at them expectantly, and they stare back with a healthy mixture of awe and confusion.

Happy sighs. “Boss wants to see you.” He steps aside and opens the back door, gesturing for Peter to get inside.

Peter turns to Ned, voice faltering a bit. “I’ll, uh - I’ll see you Monday, right?”

Ned replies with a voice an octave or two higher than usual. “Yeah, yeah, sure, man - uh, text me?” Peter nods, and then gets in the car. As they pull away from the school, Ned stands stationary, waving awkwardly until the car turns a corner and the school is out of sight.  

Peter leans back against the seat and exhales. He has no clue why Mr. Stark wants to see him - he’s only been to the Avengers Compound once, and when that happened, it was pretty easy to figure out why. But now? Could be anything. Did he screw up on a patrol? Did Mr. Stark find something out about the whole Vulture thing and get pissed? Maybe he’s gonna take away the suit!

Peter is close to figuring out the exact physics mechanisms for a safe leap out of a moving car when they arrive at the Compound. It’s just as awe-inspiring as the first time he saw it. He stands, star-struck for more than a few moments before Happy rolls his eyes and says, “You coming, kid?”

When they get inside, Peter looks around (pretty much just being amazed) before Happy asks, “Hey FRIDAY? Where’s Tony?”

Peter jumps as a disembodied voice comes from the ceiling. Mr. Stark has a personal AI too? He probably could have guessed that, but it doesn’t make it any less awesome. “Boss is in his personal lab, Mr. Hogan. He has been notified of your arrival and has requested that I take Peter Parker to him.” A small ‘ _ding’_  sounds from across the atrium and an elevator opens. Peter looks at Happy, expecting some sort of permission, but Happy just shrugs. Peter turns back towards the elevator, wide eyed, and then walks inside.

The doors close and the elevator starts moving immediately. Peter blinks, confused, and then realizes there’s no buttons - FRIDAY’s doing it all herself.

The doors open again with another small ‘ _ding_ ’ and Peter finds himself in possibly the coolest room in the entire history of the universe, ever - seriously, it’s, like, hyperventilating-kind-of-cool-oh-my-god. It’s a miracle he doesn’t burst into tears on the spot.

Everything is super sleek and modern - a mixture of blues, whites, grays, and blacks. Holograms are pretty much everywhere - as touchscreens, as blueprints, as fully-functioning computers. Tech is strewn around the place, and not just Iron Man stuff - all kinds of things. There are cars, phones, watches, Avengers weaponry, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. There’s so much to take in and such a small amount of time to do it. It’s like the sweetest daydream Peter’s ever had and better, and so he needs to touch everything effective immediately.

“Don’t touch anything,” A voice says, and Peter turns and it’s Tony Stark.

Even though Peter’s talked to Mr. Stark a good amount of times before and some of the hero-worship has worn off, there’s still a significant shock to his system whenever he sees his longtime childhood hero (and everyone says he’s still a kid, so Mr. Stark is really still his hero). But this time, it’s even crazier, because he’s not all dressed up like he usually is.

Devoid of the usual sunglasses and expensive suit, Mr. Stark is wearing jeans and a hoodie from MIT that looks really old and comfy. His hair is all messed up and Peter thinks there’s motor oil on his cheek. “H-hey, Mr. Stark,” Peter says, voice wavering.

“Hey, kid. What’s up?” What’s  _up?_ How can Peter answer that question in a cool way? Oh god, he has a hard time answering that question like a normal person when it’s a  _normal person_ asking him - what’s he gonna say now?

“Oh, uh - nothing - nothing much,” He stutters, scratching his head.  _Nailed it,_ his brain supplies sarcastically, and Peter tells himself to shut up.

“Well, that’s good, because I actually brought you over here today for a reason, so -” Mr. Stark says, turning to the side, taking a small pause when -

“Wait, Mr. Stark?” He stops, confused for a second, before he turns back around to look at Peter.

“Yeah, kid?”

Peter pauses for a second, hesitant, but he’s already interrupted Mr. Stark, so... “Yeah, why - uh, why  _did_  you, um, call me here? Did I do something wrong? Do you need to take the suit away again?” He looks down at his feet for a moment.

Mr. Stark frowns. There’s a moment of silence before he responds. “No, no, you didn’t do anything wrong, I -” He sighs for a moment. “Actually, I figured you could use a break from all that high school stuff - god knows I didn’t like that crap for the two minutes I was there - and the superhero stuff too. And, well, I was working on a project and figured I could use a second set of eyes, so…” He trails off.

Peter does his best to channel his totally-normal-energy for the second time that day. “Cool, cool, cool, cool. Noice,” He mumbles, looking at the ground. “Toit.”

Mr. Stark rolls his eyes at the seemingly meaningless teenaged lingo and says, “Come over here, kid. It’s not every day you get to play around in a genius’s jungle gym.” Peter laughs.

He is not doing a victory dance inside his head. No, he is not.

* * *

They work for hours, sometimes silent, sometimes bursting at the seams with words because of a new breakthrough. They work on Peter’s web shooters for a while, and then debate durability vs. flexibility when it comes to Peter’s suit, and then tinker with some basic nanotechnology ideas that Mr. Stark’s been toying with. It’s honestly a super, super,  _super_ great time and Ned is gonna get a real earful once Peter gets home.

They pretty much work nonstop on various projects until Peter’s stomach very loudly reminds them of a couple of things both had forgotten about. Peter blushes, embarrassed, but Mr. Stark doesn’t seem to mind. “Come on, kid. Pepper would probably be telling me to eat now, anyways. How do you feel about pizza?”

Peter protests. “No, it’s - it’s okay, Mr. Stark, you don’t need to get me pizza, I can - I can wait until I get home.” Mr. Stark waves him off.

“It’s fine, kid. I’m a billionaire, remember? A little pizza is nothing to me. As long as there’s no pineapple, I’m totally happy to get some, because I plan on having it too. Just - no pineapple. I have to reiterate. Vision has great taste in a lot of things, but when it comes to pizza, he’s a freaking maniac. An absolute animal. It’s honestly kind of traumatizing.” Peter giggles.

“Yeah, yeah - no pineapple. I’m on your side, Mr. Stark.” The man in question sighs with relief, and then orders a pizza.

It arrives a suspiciously short amount of time later. Mr. Stark comes back in the lab in with the pizza box in hand and says, “Voila, Spider-kid. Dinner is served.” Peter approaches, ready to have a slice or five, but Mr. Stark holds him back. “Wait - no eating in the lab, genius. We practice vigorous lab safety in this household.”

Peter looks at him skeptically. “So touching an open 120 volt wire with your bare hands is completely lab safe, Mr. Stark?”

Mr. Stark straightens, puffing out his chest. “100%. It was in the name of science and any injuries sustained were completely heroic.”

Peter chuckles. “Okay, then.” He follows Mr. Stark’s lead into the elevator, and then - into the Avenger’s common room?! Holy crap. This is seriously some kind of dream. Peter almost pinches himself.

There isn’t anyone hanging around - Mr. Rhodes is probably off doing work somewhere and Vision is a bit of a wild card when it comes to domestic existence, he figures. Mr. Stark doesn’t seem concerned about this at all, instead dropping down on the couch and putting the pizza on the coffee table. Peter stands for a second, hesitant, before Mr. Stark rolls his eyes and pats the couch. “The sofa isn’t gonna kill you, kid.”

Peter sits down and, seeing no immediate backlash, reaches out and grabs a slice of pizza. It’s  _damn_ good pizza, he decides a second later, and soon enough the slice is gone. And then the next one as well.

Mr. Stark chuckles. “I can see there’s not gonna be any conversation here - at least, not with you being so teenager-y. God, kids these days.” He says jokingly. “Do you want to put something on?” Peter nods, a little embarrassed, and Mr. Stark turns on the TV.

“Have any ideas on a show?” Peter thinks for a moment, a little flattered that Mr. Stark would ask what  _he_ wanted to see.

“Oh, uh, I mean - whatever you wanna watch is fine with me, Mr. Stark,” He stammers.

“Kid, I haven’t watched TV in years. I really don’t know what’s on except for  _Friends_ reruns and crap like that. You can pick.”

“I mean, there’s totally nothing wrong with  _Friends_ reruns, except Ross is super annoying, but besides that -” He glances at the look on Mr. Stark’s face for a second and makes the executive decision to shut down that train of thought. “I’ll just, uh, pick something else.” Peter stammers, deliberating - and then smiles as he comes up with the perfect, perfect answer.

“Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” He says, and Mr. Stark shrugs. “Ever heard of it?”

“No,” Mr. Stark replies, and Peter grins wider.

“Perfect,” He whispers, and then it begins.

* * *

 Two hours later, Mr. Stark is on the ground.

“Oh, man, it’s been a while since I’ve seen something funny like that. Oh my god. Nice choice, kid,” Mr. Stark says, and Peter glows. He gets up off the ground, groaning, and then sits back on the couch.

“Yeah, it’s - it’s my favorite show. It just got renewed for a sixth season when everyone thought it was gonna be canceled, and I am now living my best life.” Mr. Stark looks at him weird for the last part, but it’s slang, so that’s to be expected.

“Honestly, you kids talk so weird. I can see the headlines now.  _‘Gen Z is killing the English language industry’_.” Peter laughs.

“Yeah, yeah, I bet,” He giggles, and then briefly looks down at his watch, wondering what time it is. The answer?

Way, way too late.

“Oh crap! I - I gotta get home, May is gonna kill me - I’m usually out patrolling but she doesn’t let me stay out this late without coming home for dinner, I should -” Before Peter can completely spiral, Mr. Stark chuckles and puts a hand briefly on Peter’s shoulder.

“Relax, kid, I already told your hot aunt.” Peter glares. “She’s not gonna get mad, or whatever. You’re right about it being late, though. I should probably get you home before it’s Spider-baby’s bedtime. Don’t want you falling asleep on the job.” Peter gapes, aghast.

“Mr. Stark!” He whines, the perfect picture of affronted. “I’m not a baby.”

Mr. Stark stands, picking up the empty pizza box as he starts to walk away. “M-hm. Sure thing, Spider-baby.”

“Mr.  _Stark,_ ” He says again, feeling more than a little humiliated, and then gets up to follow.

The drive home is more of the same - Mr. Stark poking at Peter, Peter poking a little bit back, and it feels like they’re not just some random kid from Queens and the world’s richest man combined with the world’s coolest superhero. Mr. Stark asks about his day, asks about his friends, asks about his classes. Peter is dead but also living. It’s kind of crazy.

Sooner than Peter thought it would be, they’re stopped in front of his apartment building. “Bye, Mr. Stark. Thanks so much for the pizza, and - and for _everything_.” Peter says, and Mr. Stark smiles.

“See you next Friday, kid.” Peter grins, closes the door, and watches the car pull away until he can’t see it anymore.

Peter doesn’t exactly understand what just happened, but whatever it is, he’s damn happy about it. Mr. Stark wants to hang out with him.

_His hero wants to hang out with him._

Peter grins again, and thinks that same thing until he falls asleep.

* * *

 

Tony’s invested.


	2. Chapter 2

“So I’m sure you’ve all been hearing about this for years - quiet down, guys, come on - but today is finally the day you start your individual science project for the sophomore science fair!” Ms. Li says, and the room erupts with excited whispers and mutters. Peter and Ned make eye contact across the room, both already planning out what their projects will be.

The sophomore science fair is something every kid at Midtown waits for up until the day they get to do it. It’s easily the best and most common advertisement for any rising freshman who might want to come to Midtown, all because of the high-caliber creations and competition. Any observer is consistently left in awe. Day and night, most kids dream of winning first prize and having their name read over the microphone, loudspeaker, school news program -

Needless to say, it’s kind of a big deal.

“Come on, kids, stop talking. Alright, okay - the fair is going to be not this Friday, but next Friday, so it’ll be the 18th. Your project can pertain to anything in the STEM field, as long as you aren’t copying directly from any previous experiments - it doesn’t matter if it’s from a full-fledged scientist or a former student. It’s got to be original, which also means that there’s no external help! You can’t get an adult or another student to do it for you, unless other people happen to be test subjects, which is perfectly fine as long as it’s safe. Mindy, pass out the rubrics, would you? Thanks. So, you’ll have to make a presentation - I don’t care if it’s a poster, a trifold, or an infographic, but it has to be readily available for anyone to read at anytime with all the information I outlined in the rubric. You’ll have time in class to brainstorm, but we recommend doing the bulk of the work outside of class because you’re not going to get enough time here.” Ms. Li takes one look at the restless faces, all itching to get to work, and chuckles. “Okay, I’ve talked long enough. Go!” She says, and kids start racing around the room.

Peter smiles, and sits still as chaos unleashes around him. Oh, he’s got this in the _bag_.

* * *

Tony is working on the repulsors in his suit when Peter bursts in, and a regular whirlwind of activity accompanies him. The kid looks excited about something for sure (then again, when is he not excited about something?) and seems determined to show it. A backpack gets flung in this direction, a notebook in that - yeah, whirlwind is definitely the word to describe it.

“Whoa, half-pint, slow down,” He says, watching Peter amusedly, “What’s the hurry?”

Peter pauses, ecstatic smile on his face, and more than a few papers flutter to the ground during his sudden, intermittent lack of movement. “Sophomore science fair,” He breathes, as if that explains everything, and then continues doing… whatever it is he’s doing.

“Back it up, back it up. So - you’ve got a science project? What is it, due tomorrow?” Peter looks confused and cocks his head to the side.

“No, why?”

Tony smiles. “Well, you’ve been here for approximately 15 seconds and it looks like a tornado just ravaged half the lab.”

Peter stops smiling and instantly looks horrified. “Oh, I’m so sorry, Mr. Stark, I - I got excited, because - well, it’s a really really _really_ big deal and I -” Tony holds up a hand and Peter quiets.

“Chill out, kid. It’s fine. I just wanted to know why you went all… Jake Peralta on me.” Peter brightens at the Brooklyn 99 reference, and then sits down.

“Well, you see, there’s this whole big thing at Midtown…” He starts off, and Tony listens to him explain the whole science-fair-shebang. There’s an enthusiastic glint in Peter’s eye that sparkles every time he so much as mentions the STEM aspect, and he keeps gesturing with his hands in a way Tony knows comes from the very Italian May Parker.

Peter finishes, out of breath, and Tony grins. He then asks the winning question he knows is gonna set the kid right off again. “Well, got any ideas?”

The answer takes an hour and way more back and forth than originally anticipated.

By the end of it, Peter suddenly has a digital blueprint all made up in a hologram, and all he has to do is get the materials and then get to work. Tony pats him on the back, and then turns around to go work on his repulsors again. He sits down and looks back at Peter, who’s still standing by the blueprint, a delighted smile on his face. Tony grins, and feels proud.

God, he’s so sappy.

* * *

An hour or so later both of them are working quietly on their own things, occasionally interrupted by Peter’s questions about where things are or how something works. Weirdly enough, the silence is more companionable than awkward, which is something Tony’s almost entirely unfamiliar with - usually silence is something that’s gotta be filled with some kind of chatter, even if he’s all alone.

But things seem just fine to Tony right now - it’s almost like being alone, which he’s pretty familiar with at this point, but sometimes he turns around and the kid is standing there, working hard, and he’s reminded that he’s actually… _not_ alone. Crazy.

So they work and work, until the quiet is broken by Peter, pointing and asking a question. “Hey, Mr. Stark, uh - what… what is that?” He asks, puzzled but seemingly amused at something. Tony turns and looks to see Peter pointing at Dum-E, and Tony barks out a laugh.

“Oh, kid, that’s just Dum-E. He’s a real idiot robot I made when I was around your age. At this point in life he’s pretty much just trying to make smoothies now, and they’re all freaking awful.” Peter chuckles, and then gets up and walks over to it.

He rests a hand on Dum-E’s neck (is it a neck? Who knows) and _pets him,_ like a _household dog,_ because of _course_ Peter does. Tony smiles against his will and then turns back to what he was doing, because _geez,_ kid. Only Peter would do that. Dum-E makes a pleased whirring sound, and when Peter goes back to his work station, Dum-E follows him.

Tony sighs with more amusement than frustration, and watches as Dum-E hands Peter papers and different parts while he works, being suspiciously helpful - more helpful than he’s probably been in years, or maybe ever.

Figures.

* * *

Peter’s still working hard, nose practically touching the table, when his phone buzzes, startling him almost out of his chair. Mr. Stark gives him a strange look from across the room, where he’s fine-tuning some new setting in his repulsors. You know, just, regular old stuff, yeah, yeah - Iron Man working on his Iron Man Suit right next to him, in the same damn room, what else is new?

Yeah, Peter’s still not over it. Will he ever be? It’s a question for the ages.

He looks at his phone to see a text from Ned, and picks it up to reply.

 **#1 Guy in the Chair:** ,,,,, are you still at stark tower

 **Spooderman:** ohmygod yesssss i am im working on my science fair project

 **#1 Guy in the Chair:** no fair you have tony stark helping you out

 **Spooderman:** no no dude im doing it all on my own mr stark just helped me brainstorm

 **#1 Guy in the Chair:** receipts

 **Spooderman:**????? wdym

 **#1 Guy in the Chair:** pics or it didnt happen

Peter closes his eyes, sighing fondly at Ned’s obvious ploy to get Peter to take a selfie with Mr. Stark. Ned would never doubt Peter’s _amazing_ academic integrity (which Peter can still hear Captain America lecturing him about all the way from the detention room), so this is his positively _amateurish_ way of getting the picture.

Peter is of _course_ going to do it anyways, so he picks up his phone and angles to make sure that the holographic blueprints for his project are in the picture, but also that you can see Mr. Stark aiming his repulsors in the background. He’s about to take the picture when Dum-E pops up over Peter’s shoulder, and Peter gives a surprised laugh that garners Mr. Stark’s attention. He takes the photo a second later, and is delighted to see it captured Mr. Stark looking directly into the camera, mouth open, while the repulsor beam fires.

Mr. Stark shakes his head, smiling. “Don’t post that anywhere, okay, kid? There are some blueprints in the background that I don’t want the general public to see.” Peter nods.

“Can I send it to Ned?”

“Sure thing, kid.” Peter sends it, a little bubble of happiness glowing in his chest, and then discreetly sets it as his home screen (making sure to blur out all the important blueprints beforehand). What? It’s a nice picture. Sue him.

He works for a good hour or so longer before he starts to finally slow down, eyes growing a bit heavy. They had pasta for dinner a couple of hours ago, and it’s starting to make him a little sleepy now. Surely Mr. Stark won’t mind if he just... rests his head for... a few minutes…

* * *

 

Tony finally finishes off the fine-tuning for his new repulsor setting - a continuous, fine jet of energy that’s smaller than the tip of a pin and fine enough to do some careful welding or even lock-picking. He looks up, victorious, and then notices Peter totally conked out on his desk.

He looks down at his watch, and decides that it _is_ rather late, and Peter probably should be home in his bed right now. He gets up, intending to wake Peter up and pack him in the car, but one more look at the kid and he tosses that idea right out the window. He looks like he needs the sleep and an hour’s car ride isn’t going to help any with that.

Instead, Tony pulls out his phone and snaps a picture, sending it to May with the caption, _Is a sleepover alright with you?_

May responds within a minute. _It’s alright with me if you keep sending me pictures like that._

Tony takes another one, this time with the camera angled to the side so it could see Peter’s face squished into the table, and then sends that off to May as well. Are the pictures strictly necessary? No. Will that stop him? Absolutely not. If anything, it’s retaliation for the surprise selfie Peter sprung on him earlier, which he’s going to have Peter send to him first thing in the morning.

For now, though, he figures that it’s best if he wakes Peter up for a minute so he can walk him to his room. Contrary to what Peter thinks, Tony _did_ actually plan on the kid joining up with the Avengers, so the whole room thing was real. The room is still there, decorated and all, totally ready for the kid to use it.

So, he pads over quietly and taps Peter on the shoulder gently. There’s no reaction except a soft grumble, so Tony pokes him, and this does not achieve the desired effect, either. Tony sighs, dropping his shoulders, and ruffles the kid’s hair just a shade aggressively. This catches Peter’s attention, and he looks up, face confused and delightfully sleepy.

“Come on, sleepyhead,” Tony says with a smirk, “No napping on the lab tables. Don’t want to get drool all over the place, do ya?” Peter exhales slowly, stretching, and tiredly gets up from the table. Tony doesn’t miss him wiping at his mouth, checking for the hypothetical drool, and laughs to himself.

Peter’s voice is low and obviously laden with sleep. “I should -” yawn - “text May, let her know I’m coming home.” He says, rubbing his eyes.

“That’s okay, kid. I texted her, she’s letting you stay overnight. Just follow me to your room.” Peter nods, eyes slipping closed again even as he walks, and trudges behind.

They reach Peter’s room shortly, and Tony stops in front of the door, opening it. “Pajamas are in the bottom drawer. I think there’s a toothbrush in the bathroom. ‘Night, kid.”

“G’night, Mr. Stark,” Peter says, and Tony closes the door. He waits outside for just a moment, and the soft ‘poof’ that he hears through the door a minute later is the telltale sign that Peter has fallen directly into bed. He smiles, shakes his head, and disregards the strange feeling in his chest before walking away.

* * *

 

Peter wakes up the next morning and has no idea where he is for a second before the voice of FRIDAY greets him. “Good morning, Peter. It is 8:37 A.M., Saturday morning. Would you like me to inform Boss that you are awake?”

Peter blinks, and sits up, confused. He has fuzzy memories of how he got here, but the more he thinks about it, the more he remembers Mr. Stark walking him through the compound before they stopped and said good night. Mr. Stark had said the words “your room” - not “guest room” or even “a room” - “ _your_ room”. And as he looks around, he can see quite clearly that Mr. Stark meant what he said.

There’s Star Wars posters on the wall, and a TV sitting in front of the bed with some little Star Wars figurines in front of it. There’s a desk to his right, and over the desk there’s a big framed poster of some art someone made of Spider-man. There are some framed photos of Peter and May, Peter and Ned, Peter and the Decathlon Team… Mr. Stark really thought of everything.

He looks down, and even the pajamas he’s wearing are the right size and, this time, blissfully devoid of Hello Kitty.

It’s weird. Back when Mr. Stark had given him that whole test about being an Avenger, he had mentioned that Peter had a room made and stuff. Of course, that must have been a bluff, because he wasn’t _actually_ offering Peter a spot with the Avengers, but…

The room is real. And, clearly, made for him.

Maybe Mr. Stark wasn’t testing him on the whole Avengers thing, which would be _wild._

Driven by curiosity, he gets out of bed, and trods down the hall for a few feet before realizing he has absolutely _no_ idea where he’s going. He stops, sighs, and looks up before saying, “Hey, FRIDAY, where’s Mr. Stark?”

“He’s in the kitchen, which is on the right side of this hallway if you turn around and head in the other direction.” Peter shakes his head and turns around, heading towards the kitchen.

When he gets there, Mr. Stark is drinking coffee and reading something on his StarkPad before looking up. “Hey, kid,” He says, “Want some toast?” Peter nods, and Mr. Stark pushes the plate towards him. The toast is really warm and buttery, and Peter has a few slices before finally slowing down and deciding to say what’s on his mind.

“Hey, Mr. Stark?” The man in question looks at him, eyebrow raised, and sets down his StarkPad.

“Yeah, kiddo?” He says, and takes a sip of coffee.

“When you, um - when you offered me a chance to, to be an Avenger - was that, uh, actually a test?”

Mr. Stark puts down the coffee cup and sighs. “No, kid, it wasn’t. I just said that ‘cause, well, I figured you wouldn’t feel bad about turning it down then. After you said what you said, you convinced me that you were right about staying close to the ground for a little while. I didn’t want you to go back on your word because you felt bad for me.” He pauses. “Plus, saving face, and all that.” Peter smiles.

“Yeah, um - someone’s gotta look out for the little guy, y’know? I’m - I’m happy I did that, even if it means I won’t get to be an Avenger. The room is still really cool though. Thanks, Mr. Stark.”

There’s a pregnant pause, and Peter takes another couple bites of toast before Mr. Stark speaks again. “You do know that you’ll still be an Avenger one day, though, right?”

Peter’s eyes widen, and he puts down his toast. “R-really?” He whispers, shocked.

Mr. Stark gives him a look. “Yeah, it wasn’t just a one-time offer, kid. Once you’re out of school, the spot is still open for you to take. That is, if you want it,” He says, seemingly not aware that he’s just exploded Peter’s entire world.

Mr. Stark is starting to look a little concerned before Peter grins hugely, unable to contain his happiness. “Wow,” He breathes, and looks down. “I’m - I’m gonna be an Avenger.”

He basks in the shock and awe a moment longer before Mr. Stark stands up, passing by Peter as he moves to put his dishes in the sink, ruffling his hair along the way. “Yeah, yeah, hurry up, kid. I promised Aunt Hottie that I’d have you home by 10:00.” Peter stands up, putting his dishes away too, and then rushes to get all of his stuff.

* * *

 Tony watches him run off, and smiles. That kid’s going to be the future of SI and the Avengers, and he’s got almost no clue at all.

They drive home, chattering again, and Peter fills him in excitedly on all the stuff that he’s done on patrol and in school that week, all woken up and itching to get out into the city as Spider-man. The hour passes quickly, and before they know it, they’re in front of Peter’s apartment again.

Peter opens the door and gets out, leaning in to say goodbye before shutting the door. “Thanks for all your help with the project, Mr. Stark,” He says.

“What? Kid, I didn’t do anything. It was all you.”

Peter shrugs. “You did help me, though. I would never have developed the idea fully if you weren’t there to ask me all about it and give me all the stuff I need. It really helped _so_ much.”

Tony smiles. “Whatever you say, kiddo. See you at the science fair.” Peter shuts the door and walks away, content for a second, before he stops in his tracks.

Mr. Stark is coming to his _school science fair?_

Oh, god. He’s gonna panic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im just saying if anyone drew the selfie that peter took with tony and sent it to me i would cry :')

**Author's Note:**

> im not 100% sure where im going with this but i promise updates will come if there's good feedback so please leave kudos/comments/bookmarks!


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